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Auto-erotic asphyxiation possible in kidnapper Castro’s death

CONVICTED KIDNAPPER: Ariel Castro, who held three women captive in his Cleveland home for a decade. Photo: Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio officials suggest in a new report it’s possible Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro may have died of auto-erotic asphyxiation, not suicide.

A report from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction says Castro’s pants and underwear were pulled down to his ankles when he was found. It also says Castro did not leave a suicide note and “multiple levels of assessment” did not find tendency toward suicide.

The state forwarded those facts to police to consider the possibility of auto-erotic asphyxiation, whereby individuals achieve sexual satisfaction by briefly choking themselves into unconsciousness.

The report also says two prison guards falsified logs documenting their observation of Castro in the hours before he killed himself. The report says video indicates no checks were done on Castro at least eight times before he died.